1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a video tape recorder with a camera and more particularly is directed to a video tape recorder having a built-in camera.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a typical home video recorder having a built-in video camera, the user generally holds a hand grip portion of this built-in camera type video tape recorder with his right hand while operating the camera to take video images.
In prior art video tape recorders having a built-in camera, the hand grip portion is provided on a side wall of the video tape recorder. This causes the overall thickness of the video tape recorder to be relatively large. As a result, when the user carries this video tape recorder having a built-in camera in its non-operational mode, this video tape recorder can not be put into a carrying case such as an attache case or the like that is relatively thin. Instead, the user has to carry such a video tape recorder in a larger, special case, which is generally unwieldy and often identifiable by others as a camera case.
In the conventional built-in camera type video tape recorder, a television camera section, a video tape recorder section and a view finder section are substantially formed in combination as a single unit. Therefore, the operational modes or status of the television camera section and the video tape recorder section can easily be displayed in an optical or electronic type view finder.
When a built-in camera type video tape recorder is designed to be small in size and hence easily portable, if the television camera section and the video tape recorder section are preferably formed into a combination form as a main body, and a hand grip is formed to include therein an optical type view finder and a battery, if both the main body and the hand grip section are coupled together to take a video picture, the problem arises that the operational status of the television camera section and the video tape recorder section cannot be optically displayed within the optical type view finder.
Of course, if a number of electrical contacts are provided on the main body and the hand grip section so as to be contacted with one another when both the main body and the hand grip are coupled together, it becomes possible to display the operational status of the television camera section and the video tape recorder section using light emission elements such as LEDs (light emission diode) may be located within the optical view finder. However, in this case, a further problem occurs in that the electrical contacts will easily malfunction, thus making this built in camera type video tape recorder unreliable.